Let My Birthday Weekend Commenceth

Call me a nerd, but Gettysburg is a special place to me for multiple reasons. I was part of the generation that grew up interested in not only the battle, but the American Civil War due to the release of the motion picture in 1993. Combine that with William Frassanito's Gettysburg: A Journey In Time, a study in which famous photographs of Civil War dead are examined and eventually located on today's battlefield. Exhilarating stuff.

Gettysburg is a place that has provided me and the world with years worth of stories. So much happened there that you could read books on the subject for the rest of your life and still not know the stories of all who fought there.

It's also the place in which I had my first legal drink. Said drink was at O'Rorke's Eatery and Spirits on Steinwehr Avenue, named after Colonel Patty O'Rorke of the 140th New York which fought on Little Round Top. My father took me there right at midnight of the 16th that year. I had a rum and coke and much to my disappointment I wasn't even carded. As I embark upon this trip very soon I once again hope to be carded as I finally have a driver's license that depicts someone as thin as I am now.

I also hope to frequent establishments that I've become fascinated with on previous trips. This includes both Appalachian Brewing Company which sits near the first day's field and across the street from one of the more famous photographs in history. I'm almost certain I want to get my hands on some more of its Mountain Lager again. There's also a great burger joint by the name of Blue and Gray Bar and Grill in the town square. I also have plans to meet Justin of Justin's Brew Review at the Dobbin House Tavern, a place also on Steinwehr that I haven't dined at as of yet.

The Dobbin House Tavern on Steinwehr. There at the time of the battle.

I mentioned last week that there are sources untapped. If you're among the few that follow this blog you know I'm referring to the newly established Gettysburg Battlefield Brew Works in the old Monfort farm house. It's owned by a former assistant at rock Bottom at the Waterfront Shopping Complex.

I'm sure I'll be posting plenty of photographs and updates on my Twitter feed as my trip progresses. Tomorrow, I hope to have a special post up about one of my former classmates in high school who's putting on a special beer project here in my hometown of Munhall.

Beer Review: Appalachian Brewing Water Gap Wheat

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 4.5 percent

Appearance: Water Gap Wheat is a shade of pale yellow. I'd ballpark the color a little bit below a straw yellow you see in numerous blonde brews. Water Gap Wheat is also plenty hazy. The head on the beer is very week. Once poured, it features a very thin white head which disappears quickly. It'll go away even faster if you toss a wedge of citrus in it.

Smell: This beer gives off a strong hint of lemon and citrus. I also got some small notes of wheat and grain, but the citrus scents do dominate this.

Taste: This is where is went somewhat down hill for me. The wheat, grain and citrus all mix well, but the beer in general is fairly weak. I'm hoping this beer isn't named for being watery, but that's what I took home from my experience with this beer.

Overall Rating: 

This beer had a lovely color. It also smelled very pleasant. The weakened taste and lack of carbonation lost some points in my book. It's certainly no knock on the brewer. I've had plenty of Appalachian's beers and loved them.

Beer Review: Appalachian Brewing Anniversary Maibock

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 7.2 percent

Appearance: Appalachian Brewing Company's Anniversary Maibock pours a deep golden color. It has a very thin layer of creamy and foamy head that fades fairly fast. Don't expect to much lacing as you drink the beer. Carbonation doesn't seem to be too present either. I wish there was more of a head on this beer, but the color was fairly impressive.

Smell: This beer emanates a strong aroma of alcohol, as evident by the fairly high ABV. If you can get behind the booze, you can sense some attractive aromas such as caramel and honey.

Taste: The honey and caramel tastes are very complementary to the alcohol that is present in this brew. There is also a surprising hop character on the back of the tongue upon drinking this beer.

Overall Rating: 

Anniversary Maibock has a beautiful color and a very interesting, yet fun taste. Would definitely have again. The only downsides were the lack of head and intense aroma and taste of alcohol.

Post No. 150: A Case of Nostalgia

Compared to numerous other beer and food pairing blogs out there, this one is still in its infancy when I say that this is my 150th post. I figured that I should pick out a few of my favorite images I've gathered and posted on this blog to highlight some of my beer drinking and food eating adventures.

This one is from my Troegs Nugget Nectar review. From my recollection, this is one of the first beer reviews I did with my current digital camera. It was taken the night the beer was tapped at Blue Dust in Homestead, which means it was one of the first tappings of Nugget Nectar in all of Pittsburgh.

When you blow the picture up, you can see the detail in both the body and the carbonation of the beer. Nugget Nectar appears to have a lovely color as well. To me, this looks like a perfect pour. The crown of the beer looks well bogged down in the top of the glass and I also love how the beer seems to poke out from the darkness like it's some holy entity.

I fell in love with this image as soon as I uploaded the set from the camera. I've grown to enjoy looking at it so much, that I've tried to incorporate it into many of the backgrounds I've experimented with over the last year or so that I've been writing this blog.

This next one is from my post about a visit to Fat Head's Pittsburgh. After trying a few great beers on tap, my stomach was craving one of my favorite aphrodisiacs, chicken wings. Upon checking out the sauces Fat Head's had available I saw the intriguing Jalapeno Cheddar flavor.

I had to try them. The sauce is pretty much spicy cheese sauce with jalapeno chunks spread about in it, but it was an adventurous meal.

Did you think I was really going to have only one photograph featuring a lovely-looking beer? This is a really dark one, but also extremely delicious. It's from my Mary's Maple Porter review a few months back.

It was just a limited-release by Brooklyn Brewery and I was lucky to sample it, once again at the craft beer capitol of Pittsburgh, at Blue Dust.

I sometimes find it fascinating to stare at the heads of darker beers and inspect the different shades of beige and off-white colors they exhibit.

This one had a head that was more than the thickness of two fingers and was so bubbly. It had such an interesting texture. Complimenting the head was one dark abyss of a body.

The taste of this beer was pretty awesome. If I could pour this over pancakes in the morning, I'm sure it would be an enhancement from syrup.

The next two are from a few very recent posts, both of which were on my trip to Gettysburg. This burger shot is from the town's newest bar and grill joint, the Blue and Gray Bar and Grill. If you read my post about it, you'll see a few examples of the exotic, Civil War themed burgers the place has on its menu.

This one was in a typical southern tradition and featured peanut butter and bacon. One of the best burgers I've ever eaten. There's plenty more where that came from.

This last one is from my recent review of Appalachian Brewing's Cream Ale. I've been known to have some sort of an attraction to beers with foaming heads in pint glasses, but this one was a different take.

The beer's head wasn't as active as some others are, but was just thick enough to appear as an appetizing layer of cream. The beer's body was hazy and opaque, but it just had an effervescence to it that was extremely appealing. The deep gold in the body and the white creminess of the head played off of each other well. The rustic atmosphere in the photograph's background doesn't hurt either.

 The sweetness on the front and the hop character and tanginess on the back also helped me love this beer.

Beer Review: Appalachian Brewing Cream Ale

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 5.5 percent

Appearance: Cream Ale has a golden, but still opaque look to the body. It appears so hazy and thick that not much carbonation is noticeable. It's crowned with a quarter inch of foamy, white head which stays on the beer for a good while. So, get used to it being there. Overall, a very attractive and appetizing beer.

Smell: This beer gives off an initial aroma of sweetness and malt, but has a strong backbone of hops that was stronger in any cream ale I've had previously. As you know, I'm usually a big proponent of being adventurous within the beer style.

Taste: The taste doesn't travel too far from where the smell leaves you. It's sweet initially, but the hoppy backbone seems like it gets upset and dominates the flavor and aftertaste as it goes down. In essence, it goes from sweet to tangy.

Overall Rating: 

I really enjoyed this beer. Going from sweet to tangy in one gulp is quite an adventure. The maltier brews I've had at Appalachian Brewing have been outstanding, in my eyes, to say the least.

Beer Review: Appalachian Brewing Mountain Lager

Serving Type: Draft

ABV: 4.5 percent

Appearance: Mountain Lager pours a pale gold color. You can see pretty much straight through the body. A decent bit of carbonation is present. The head is a fairly thin layer of white fizz, but seems to want to remain atop the beer.

Smell: The malt from this beer punches you in the nose. It smells mainly sweet and pungent. Breadiness and a slight amount of floral hops also find their way from the brew to your nostrils.

Taste: The malt flavor has a certain sweetness to it and when it mixes with that light, floral hoppiness on the tongue you won't ever forget it. The sweetness hits you on the front and then mellows out on the back for an easy aftertaste. Excellent taste.

Overall Rating: 

This is one of the best beer's I've had. The sweetness wasn't overbearing like some honey-infused brews are, nor was it weak to the point that hops and other ingredients were interfering with it. It smells like a beer you'd get in a German beer garden, but tastes like the nectar of the gods. An awesome drink for a sunny day.

A History Lesson at Appalachian Brewing

Let's say you're touring the Gettysburg Battlefield and the heat is fairly brutal, which it usually is this time of the year. Not far from where the Confederates first stepped foot into the battlefield (just off of Buford Avenue) is an exquisite watering hole that not only brews its own beer, it provides you with a happy and full stomach.

As far as I've checked, Appalachian Brewing in Gettysburg features the most tapped brews (16 beers) at a time anywhere in town.

If you check out this place regularly, you'll notice that most of Appalachian Brewing's flagship brews are featured on tap as often as possible. These flagships include the infamous Mountain Lager (4.5 percent ABV), Water Gap Wheat (4.5 percent ABV) and Susquehanna Stout (4.6 percent ABV) just to name a few. If you're not in the mood for beer, be sure to try the homemade root, ginger and birch beers.

There is also some excellent food to pair your beers with at this place. If you're in the mood for a light lunch with whomever you're eating with, just grab a couple appetizers. I can vouch for both the pretzel logs, which comes with beer mustard to dip, and the Canadian Poutine, which is fries, gravy and cheese curds.

The menu also provides a wide selection of paninis and sandwiches. I've even been there at lunch and found numerous wraps and hoagies on a select lunch special menu.

If you want something heartier than that, the Brewer's Mac n' Cheese is the closest thing I've ever had to Rock Bottom's chicken mac n' cheese dish. Don't forget about the Mile-High Meatloaf or any of Appalachian's burgers.

I went with the BBQ Clucker sandwich.

You honestly can't go wrong here if you're a first-time visitor to Gettysburg. Go for lunch or dinner. Hell, One of the days last week in which I was there, I used up two of my meals at Appalachian Brewing. Appalachian is based in Harrisburg, but it also has pubs/restaurants in Collegeville and Camp Hill aside from this one in Gettysburg.

I've never had a beer that I didn't like from Appalachian. I wanted to get this write-up in as soon as I could before I started to review some of the beers I've tried. A few of them are among the best brews I've ever tasted.

I almost forgot to give you a brief history lesson I planned on sharing with you all. History is just feet from Appalachian Brewing's doorway. Arguably the most famous picture of the entire Civil War was taken just right across the street from the establishment, on Seminary Ridge.

The three Confederate prisoners stood next to what is now the stonewall as you turn onto Seminary Avenue.

All Roads Lead to Gettysburg

Tomorrow marks yet another one of my annual trips to Gettysburg National Military Park. Being the history buff that I am, I know that the saying "all roads lead to Gettysburg" held true on those three epic days in 1863. As easy as it was to fully concentrate an army in that day and age, it also appears that the town is also an excellent convergence point of fine beer and food.

McPherson barn along McPherson Ridge on the first day's field.

It gets pretty hot when you're east of the Blue Ridge and after a day of touring/studying some of America's most hallowed ground, you definitely want something refreshing towards the evening.

The town features some of the best period dining in all of Pennsylvania at both the Dobbin House Tavern, which features colonial-style items on its menu, and the Farnsworth House Inn, which gives patrons an 1863 dinner experience.

In terms of food, Gettysburg is in perfect position to dish out recipes from the Pennsylvania Dutch in the north as well as some Chesapeake seafood in the South.

As for beer, Troegs Brewing Company is right up the road in Harrisburg/Hershey. Troegs is arguably Pennsylvania's second most popular brewer, as well as my personal favorite, behind Yuengling & Son and will surely have most of the local bars stocked with many of my favorite brews.

Flying Dog Brewery is just to the South, out of Frederick. We also can't forget that just up Route 30 (or the Chambersburg Pike as we history buffs call it) is Hauser Estate Winery which provides the world with the infamous Jack's Hard Cider.

Appalachian Brewing Company has one of it's microbrewery/restaurants just off of Buford Avenue and right next to the house that General Robert E. Lee designated as his headquarters. There's plenty to eat and drink in Gettysburg.

This week might be somewhat abbreviated in terms of posts since I'm embarking on this trip. I will try to have a beer review for tomorrow's post and will try to document as much as possible the food and drink I come across while out east. Make sure you're tuning into my Twitter feed this weekend while I'm there. I'll also try to incorporate some of what I experience into a post or two for next week.